I am moved to write this as Hawthorn has just blogged on Robins.
There appears to be a woeful ignorance on this site of any real knowledge of wildlife, the creatures current crises in population here in the UK and what anyone can do about it as an individual.
If you will forgive me I will lift over a few of my answers about birds and then carry on with he subject. Hawthorne was asking why cerain birds fight in his garden.
' All territorial birds govern a territory that provides sufficient food for that one family. Territories are sized according to the amount of food produced so can be large or small. Not to defend one's territory is death by starvation.
Robins have a mixed diet and like proteins such as worms and bugs, so do sparrows, thus they are a direct threat to the food supply. Tits are seed eaters and therefore not to be considered as great a threat to the robin.
This is why it is extremely cruel to habitually feed garden birds and then arbitrarily stop. If the feeder is regularly filled, territories shrink and birds live at a higher density. To stop in Winter means certain death for small birds as there are no natural alternatives for foraging. If feeders are to be discontinued it should be done in midsummer, say late July, that gives time for new territories to be sought, thus avoiding an avian Darfur!'
'It is not known why certain species are either flocking. territorial or migratory, that is a real mystery.'
It continued as to why populations of birds are decreasing
'Apart from that, I suspect an awful lot of changing in population is due to destruction of habitat. Native plants are sacrificed for garden plantings which the birds, insects and wildlife do not eat.
There is an interesting correlation between the traditional flowering and fruiting habits of native flora that is echoed in the life cycles of the various creatures that feed upon said flora. With removal of plants and climate change that means plants are often flowering and thus fruiting early, feeding creatures are not at the correct stage of development to take advantage of the nutrition. Thus starve to death. This is particularly true of butterflies in their caterpillar stage. There is such a degree of inter-relationship in the food chain that the whole thing is in dire danger of breaking down completely!
And who is at the top of the food chain, us!
There is something everyone can do, even in towns, replant some native species of plants to give them a break. Do not attempt to purchase these at local garden centres. They will rarely be the correct species and will have been grown frequently abroad. The best place to go is your local Forestry Commission website or office which will know producers of native species in their area.
Just so you know that I am not talking out the back of my head on this subect, I have done a lot of work on this in WA, belonging to the Horticultural Advisory service for individuals, the likes of myself go round to people's gardens and helps them select species for planting for wildlife conservation. Althought eh species may be different there, the principles are just the same. This is part of the work I do as part of my Master Gardener's obligation.
Sorry for any errors in this post, my site is playing up!
Apologies for highjacking Hawthorn's blog, but I felt it need as wide an audience as it could get.
